ANH WU’S TRAVEL – TRIPS I HAVE DONE IN MY LIFE

I like adventure travel, especially riding motorbikes. Honestly, there is nothing that makes me happy than on two wheels. On this page you will find my personal thoughts or impression of my travel, it has nothing to do with my company’s business. In case you need any advice or info, contact me and I will try my best to provide honest and useful answers.

Cambodia

My travel to Cambodia was in June 20111. Honestly, this is a short trip in search of bike spare parts. At that time, life was slower than in Vietnam but services were more expensive. I liked the weather, people, and food. My first impression was a series of casinos after the Moc Bai / Bavet border gate. In reality, most customers were from Vietnam.

I plan to ride in this beautiful country someday in the near future. Wait for me, Cambodia!

China – my first foreign travel

I’ve been to China several times. The first time was back in 1998 via Lao Cai / HeKou border gate. I travelled with my wife and sisters. Luckily, my wife speaks English so we didn’t have any problem communicating with local Chinese people. However, I found the food too spicy and not easy for me.

My family name is from China but I have nothing to do with this country. My ancestor who was an ambassador settled in Vietnam over 1,000 years ago. Vu or Vo is a common Vietnamese surname. Vu is used by Vietnamese who live in the north while Vo is used by Vietnamese who live in the south (from Quang Binh province to the south). They are also used for Chinese having the surname of Wu in Sino–Vietnamese reading. Wu is the tenth most common surname in Mainland China while Vu or Vo is the seventh most common surname in Vietnam (nearly 4% of the population). The most well-known person is probably General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Despite a few travels to China, I have had no special impression with this country nor its people. I don’t need to retrace my ancestor’s homeland! The job was done and no more travel there.

Laos

I rode with four other friends to Laos from Vietnam in total 8 days via Na Meo / Nam Soi border gate in May/June 2017. Despite the fact that Laos is a less interesting yet more expensive country than Vietnam, I tried to experience the best on two wheels!

Travel route Vietnam & Laos

Day 1 (May 31^st 2017)): Hanoi – Quang Son. Starting at mid-day. 250km.
Day 2 (June 1^st 2017): Quang Son – Muang Kham. 350km.
Day 3 (June 2^nd 2017)): Muang Kham – Vientiane. 500km.
Day 4 (June 3^rd 2017)): Vientiane.
Day 5 (June 4^th 2017)): Vientiane – Luang Prabang. 300km.
Day 6 (June 5^th 2017)): Luang Prabang – Vieng Mai. 350km.
Day 7 (June 6^th 2017)): Vieng Mai – Son La. 350km.
Day 8 (June 7^th 2017)): Son La – Hanoi. 320km.

Below is the short video of our trip.

We’ve been through the rain, rough roads, nice roads, bloody hot weather, night riding and we finally made our dream. Thanks to great friends in Laos, especially in Vientiane, we’ve seen Laos the local way. Below is a stop in the rain on day 3 at a local gas station (wow, too many gas stations in Laos for around 7 million people!).

Stay tuned for the future update.

Thailand

This is truly my favourite country. I like the hot/dry weather, people, the way of life, and food. Anyone who travels to Thailand will agree with me on those things. Moreover, it’s varied and diverse in many ways due to the fact that people in Thailand mostly come from China and India and Buddhism has a strong influence here. People are so kind, gentle and patient and I feel better than Vietnamese.

My first trip was back in March 2007 and my most recent trip was February 2017. I saw lots of changes in this country. However, the cost of living has been more and more expensive in the last ten years. Honestly, I found Thailand cheaper than Vietnam in 2007 but the other way round in 2017. This is okay because I am a visitor and I paid nothing to build this country so naturally I am willing to pay more for services!

One thing that I found Thailand could improve is Wifi. It’s not expensive, so why they charge so much for this service in Thailand? In Vietnam, you can easily have a Wifi connection because most establishments have one free for anyone. On my February trip, I found a good way by purchasing an unlimited 7-day 4G SIM from DTAC at the sky train station in Suvarnabhumi airport for just 100 Baht (less than 3$US)! Even worse, at this airport, you could register for only one hour of free Wifi and only once.

I will be back!

Vietnam

Vietnam is my homeland I honestly my only home. I love this country so much and wouldn’t consider migrating. I prefer the Northern part of the country for varied landscape and way of life. Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) is also okay. I have no interest in visiting other parts of Vietnam because I feel the landscape not that interesting or the beaches are not my like.

One thing travellers need to know is the quality of service vs price in Vietnam. Ridiculously, Vietnamese people here tend to lower the price instead of improving the quality of service. It’s partly that they want more customers but tourists also want to spend less. Don’t hope that it works or you have scams. A typical example is when you look at bike purchase, dishonest sellers advertised “Honda Win” while in fact, it’s a Chinese bike. They try to lie right from the beginning so what else will they do next? Details are at this link.